Quod Incepimus Conficiemus
by akiqueen
Summary: What we have begun we shall finish. Remake on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Students must go through a task to win Draco's hand in marriage; what will Harry do when Ginny breaks up with him and the past comes to haunt him? HP 7 compliant. Drarry


Quod Incepimus Conficiemus

(What we have begun we shall finish)

"Attention, students," Headmistress McGonagall said, standing up to an owl-adorned podium. "I welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts. First I'd like to remind our new students that that the west wing is still being rebuilt and that under no circumstances should you wander into the Forbidden Forest. Secondly, I welcome all of the students who are rejoining us this year due to the Battle of Hogwarts that took place last year. Many students are repeating years, so Hogwarts is fuller than ever. And now, I'd like to introduce some guests who will be staying at the castle for a month or so…I will let them introduce themselves." Headmistress McGonagall stepped out of the way, and the large doors leading into the Great Hall swung open as if on cue. A thin woman and a tall man stepped forward, arm in arm. Both were in elegant, black dressrobes. The woman's blonde hair was swept up in a coif and the man's similar blonde hair was loose and straight. Although the couple had been featured in the Daily Prophet more times than one could count, it was immediately clear _who_ they actually were.

"What's up with Malfoy's parents?" Ron whispered, nudging Harry with his elbow.

"They look pretty serious, don't they?" Hermione added, sitting across from Ron. Since last summer, the two were inseparable. _And a little suffocating, _Harry added to himself. But it was alright, because his red-haired girlfriend was by his side. Harry couldn't have been happier.

The Malfoys made their way past the Slytherin table, picking up Draco Malfoy from his spot. He kept his head down and didn't make eye contact with anybody—in fact, did he look…embarrassed? Narcissa Malfoy went to the side with her son as Lucius took the podium. He cleared his throat and stared everyone down to silence. "Students of Hogwarts," he drawled, immediately reminding Harry of Severus Snape. He looked over at the Professor's usual seat, but it was filled by a middle-aged woman with wheat-coloured hair. His attention was immediately brought back to the intimidating man, as Lucius continued, "There is a Malfoy tradition that has been kept alive for years. When someone from the Malfoy family turns of age, they must marry. Because of last year's…incident, we have put it off until now. The Headmistress has allowed us to set up a room." He pointed his wand directly behind the professors' table and a door appeared out of nowhere. "One person may enter at a time. Inside shall be a task. And if you happen to fail at that task, you must leave and are not allowed to talk about the task or try it again. But should you pass the task, my son will take your hand in marriage." The entire Hall was silent, staring at the Malfoy family and mulling over Lucius's words. As an afterthought, Lucius added, "Draco has shown no particular interest in any young woman, and this is why we had devised this. You are all open to try. If no one should pass within a month…we will have to try somewhere else."

The Great Hall burst into conversation. Hermione and Harry looked over Ron, who was steadily turning redder by the second. Finally, he burst out laughing. "Ca—can't find a bloody girl so he needs his parents to do it for him!"

"Ronald," Hermione chastised. "A lot of pureblood families have traditions like that. In fact, doesn't your family have something similar?"

"No, Hermione, our mum just likes writing wedding invitations early," Ginny offered in reply, laughing when Hermione flushed. Harry sat back, listening to his friends talk. His mind was on Malfoy—his parents couldn't be serious, could they? Would any girls actually jump at this chance to obtain the Slytherin? Harry was about to see.

-

Pansy Parkinson

-

_Just relax, Pansy_, I told myself. There's nothing to be worried about. Only that I finally had a chance to be with Draco forever. I mean, not that I _didn't_ have a chance before. I was more beautiful than any girl in Slytherin, and definitely better looking than most girls in the other houses. We did go to the Yule Ball together four years ago. And I sit by him _every day_ and always offer to let him copy my notes. He never took that offer. "Hello, Pansy? Are you in there?" Blaise asked from beside me. I really liked Blaise. He was tall, dark and handsome. But even he paled in comparison to Draco.

"Can you believe his father said that? I mean, we were practically engaged since day one," I complained.

"Well, you know Draco's parents. They'll give him anything he wants. I guess he _didn't_ want you," Blaise said calmly, looking at me with his dark eyes. I gasped at Blaise's words, but I wasn't angry. He _always_ talked like that. It usually brought other girls to tears. I punched him in the arm, hard.

"I'm going to go for it," I said, looking at the door. "In fact, I'm going to be the first one! And then Draco will be all mine." I smiled, thinking about my dream man. Tall, blonde, thin…it was every girl's dream! Blaise gave me a weird look, almost as if he didn't want me to go. I brushed it off and got out of my seat. I calmly walked down the aisle between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw table. With every step I took, the quieter it got, until it was deathly silent. I knew every student had their eyes on me. Draco and his parents were nowhere in sight; they must have gone off somewhere. I made my way around the staring teachers, making sure I didn't look at any of them. I finally got to the door and pushed it open.

It was dark. I took a couple of steps forward, and the door slammed behind me. Shrieking, I grasped the doorknob, but it was frozen in place. I closed my eyes, half expecting some sort of monster to jump out at me. But suddenly, lights turned on and I blinked in surprise. It was a small room. There was some sort of pedestal with a piece of parchment on it. I made my way to it and read the single sentence: _Choose the casket with Draco Malfoy's image and he will take your hand in marriage._ I looked beyond the podium and saw three _coffins_. My arms prickled with goosebumps as I walked towards them. Each of the caskets was different: one was made of lead, silver, and the third one gold. Happy that there were only three choices, I immediately made my way to the gold casket. It seemed like the most obvious choice. I mean, Draco was rich and handsome, and the value of this thing must've been ten times as much as the other two. It had little cherubs and angels holding harps designed into the metal, and I immediately thought of Draco's blonde hair. There was an inscription on the casket which read: "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire." _Men?_ I thought to myself. _But who the hell uses the word 'chooseth'?_ I reassured myself that this was the one and I heaved it open. Inside was a skull.

I screamed, dropping the lid and letting it crash to the ground. Gathering my wits, I found that there was a piece of parchment inside. I took it and read it. "_All that glitters is not gold; Often have you heard that told: Many a man his life hath sold But my outside to behold._" I had heard that first term somewhere before, but where? I heard a loud _crack_ and a house elf appeared by my side.

"Winky doesn't like working for Dobby's old Master," she squeaked, tugging on my robes. She sniffed, dragging me to the door. "But I promised the 'mistress I'd help."

"Wait, so you're just letting me leave?" I asked, bewildered.

"The magic works when you leave. You can't talk about anything here," the short, wide-eyed house elf explained before shoving me out the door. It swung closed.

-

Ginevra Weasley

-

It wasn't that I didn't like Harry. I liked him a lot. My friends loved him. My parents loved him. But the more time I spent with him, the more I considered him to be the "fall guy", the default guy I could go to if I couldn't find anyone else. Our first kiss was magical, in the moment, and full of passion. Since then, I could count the times we'd kissed on one hand. Harry was surprisingly conservative. Dean, when I had dated him, was amazing. He knew how to make me happy; Harry, on the other hand, was afraid to go too far, no matter how much I tried to seduce him. I wasn't a precious vase or something! He'd seen me play Quidditch and I was no baby.

---

The first girl to try was, to no one's surprise, Pansy Parkinson. After about five minutes, she seemed to be pushed out the door, looking bewildered. Not long after, she began bawling, and ran into Blaise Zabini's arms. I rolled my eyes, disgusted. Soon after, many more girls lined up to give it a try, but none of them looked successful. I put the whole ordeal out of my mind and went on with my life. But I couldn't help thinking… Harry was protective, careful. But the blonde Slytherin had garnered a reputation as _the_ sex king. Rumour had it that he had slept around with every girl in Slytherin and quite a few from Ravenclaw. Lavender Brown had told me all of those were short romances; the girls were dumped after a night. Now, if Harry was more like Malfoy… I shook my head, knowing that I should be grateful. I had been crushing on my boyfriend since I first saw him, and now I finally had him. But now I was wondering… I loved Harry and all, but if I could capture Malfoy, it would humiliate him to no end. Ending up with a Weasley. With that in mind, I decided to give it a go. I probably wouldn't be able to solve the puzzle anyways.

I crept into the boys' room when I knew they would be out and shoveled through Harry's clothes until I found his invisibility cloak. I put it on and made my way out, darting past teachers and students. There were a handful of students in the Great Hall, and a clear path to the door set up by the Malfoys. After making sure no one would notice, I opened the door and squeezed myself through. I shut the door and tore off the invisibility cloak. In front of me was a pedestal with a piece of parchment on it, saying that one of three caskets would win me the Slytherin Prince. _Depressing choice for a task_, I thought, watching as three coffins appeared out of thin air. I walked towards them, looking at the inscriptions carved on the lids. I scoffed, rolling my eyes; they were all in some old English that I could barely understand. Hermione would love this. Eventually, I decided on the silver casket; the inscription struck a chord and I was sure of it: "Who  
chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves." _I deserve a lot_, I decided. _Money, a good husband, a worthwhile job…_Besides, the gold casket was much too showy; Draco wasn't _that _gaudy. _And I don't want to risk that lead casket_, I mused, looking at the inscription. "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath." So I chose the safe path and pushed aside the lid of the silver casket. I picked up the object inside and blinked; my reflection blinked back at me, for it was a mirror. On the bottom of the casket was a note. It read: "_Some there be that shadows kiss; Such have but a shadow's bliss: There be fools alive, I wis, Silver'd o'er; and so was this._" I stared at the complex words, lost in their meaning. I decided to ask Hermione about them later. I jumped as the loud pop of a house elf came from behind me. Sure enough, I felt a tiny hand pulling me away.

"Miss _Weasley_?" the house elf asked, surprised. I belatedly realized that it was Winky. "What is you doing here, Miss?" she squeaked.

"Winky, I can explain…" I said, clutching Harry's cloak.

"I thoughts you were happy with Harry Potter?"

"I…I am," I interrupted, but Winky looked at me with her big, round, disappointed eyes and led me out. She took the cloak and disappeared, leaving me amidst a room full of staring students.

-

Harry Potter

-

I was in the library with Ron and Hermione, who had insisted that we should do our Potions essays together. Of course, they were more interested in each other. "Ron, _don't_," Hermione whispered. I didn't want to know _what_ Ron was doing to make her say that. We all jumped in shock as Winky appeared across the table. Madam Pince, the ancient librarian, gave us a pointed look.

"Winky, why do you have my invisibility cloak?" I asked as the mousy house elf handed it over.

"Winky has very bad news, Harry Potter, sir. Miss We—" The door leading into the library slammed open, admitting in a cluster of girls.

"Ginny Weasley just tried the task!" one of them shrieked.

"She just came out of the door!" another one added. I stood up, not believing my ears. Not waiting for my friends, I barged through the girls and made my way down the hall. I spotted Ginny rushing the opposite way and ran up to her, grabbing her robes.

"Ginny?" I asked, but she remained silent. "Ginny?" I asked again and gripped her shoulders.

"Look, I didn't pass," Ginny said.

"But you tried, didn't you? Why?" I implored. I didn't know why my girlfriend would do this. Was it my fault?

"Harry, how many times have you kissed me?" she asked. The question threw me off.

"A couple," I answered.

"And how many times have we gone _beyond_ kissing?" she asked. "Never," she answered for me, not waiting for my reply. "You should hear what the girls say about Malfoy. He goes through girls like tissues."

"And you wanted that?!" I asked incredulously.

"No, I just wanted more passion," she defended.

"Look, Ginny," I explained, "I wanted to make an impression on your parents _and _on you. I promised myself not to go too far before marriage. Can you respect that?"

"My parents are already pleased with you. They wouldn't care what you did to me; they trust you'd marry me." Her words shocked me to the core, and I couldn't help but react.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" I demanded angrily. She shrank at my loud words, not replying.

"Can we just go back to normal?" she asked quietly.

"Do you really expect me to agree?" I shouted, offended. A long silence spanned between us. I noticed other students stopping to stare. I took a couple of calming breathes and softened my voice. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Ginny. But I can't go back to normal, especially not after you do something like that."

"…We're over, then," Ginny stated. "I'm sorry too, Harry." She walked away, leaving me standing in the hallway.

---

I was sitting in the common room, squashed between Ron and Hermione. Hermione was holding my hand, comforting me, and Ron was silently seething. "I can't believe Ginny, _my own sister_, did that to you, mate! When I get a hold of her, she won't know what hit her!"

"Ron…I'm sure she feels bad about this," Hermione reasoned, trying to soothe her boyfriend.

"Right. Give her a couple of weeks and Ginny will be neck-deep in boyfriends again," Ron countered.

"Ginny wouldn't do that!" she protested, but Ron shook his head.

"I know my sister. Her way of forgetting a bad breakup is getting involved in another relationship." This information didn't help me at all. I said goodnight and made my way to my bed, closing the curtains around me and falling into a troubled sleep. I spent the next couple of days going through my classes without really paying attention to them. The professors knew what had happened and gave me some leeway; none of them called on me during class and they reduced my amount of homework. If any of my classmates found it unfair, they didn't voice their opinion. Eventually, my thoughts led me to one person: Malfoy. He wasn't responsible, I knew, but I needed someone to blame. Inevitably, my thoughts returned to the Malfoy I remembered from last year; how he had helped me in the Malfoy Mansion as best as he could. How I had repaid the favor in the Room of Requirement by saving his ass from the Fiendfyre. I remembered that day well. Perhaps _too _well.

---

"_Harry, let's get out, let's get out!" bellowed Ron, though it was impossible to see where the door was through the black smoke._

_And then I heard a thin, piteous human scream from amidst the terrible commotion, the thunder of devouring flame._

"_It's—too—dangerous—!" Ron yelled, but I wheeled in the air..._

_And then I saw them: Malfoy with his arms around the unconscious Goyle. Malfoy waved one arm and as I grasped it, I knew it was no good; Goyle was too heavy and Malfoy's hand, covered in sweat, slid instantly out of my—_

"_IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!" roared Ron's voice. He and Hermione dragged Goyle onto their broom as Malfoy clambered up behind me. I instantly started flying away when my eyes caught the shape of an old tiara. I tuned out Malfoy's screams as I made a hairpin swerve and caught it right as a flaming serpent lunged at me from the side. I swerved again, trying to find Ron, Hermione, and Goyle, but I couldn't see them. Malfoy screamed again, holding me tight, and pressing his head into my shoulders like a scared little girl. I rushed out of the room, nearly colliding with the wall. I landed harshly and would've thrown Malfoy off if he wasn't holding on to me so Goddamn tight. I wrenched him away from me, looking up into his watery eyes as he sobbed loudly._

"_Malfoy, are you al—" He grabbed my head and planted a harsh kiss on my lips. Our teeth rattled with the impact and within seconds it was over, Malfoy leaning to the side and puking his guts out. To say the least, I was shocked. The smoke cleared, showing the others a few feet away._

"_C-c-Crabbe," choked Malfoy._

"_He's dead," said Ron harshly. So they hadn't noticed anything._

_---_

Whenever I was asked about what happened in the Room of Requirement, I always omitted that part. I think it was safe to say that Malfoy didn't divulge anything either. I wanted to know why he did it. And so, in search for the answer, Malfoy became my sole preoccupation once again.

Back in sixth year, and I had to admit, I was obsessed with Malfoy and determined to oust him as a Death Eater. I had gone too far, using the Sectumsempra spell, and by the time I had visual proof of that damned snake-and-skull on his forearm, Dumbledore was dead and yelling "I told you so!" to the entire school would've been inappropriate. I wonder if Snape had been able to heal all of the cuts? George Weasley's ear had never been healed after it was cut off…

---

It took me a few days to gather the courage to do it, but I did it. It was Saturday, the morning of the last day of the stupid tasks set up by Malfoy's parents. I took out the Maurader's Map and scoured it for the Slytherin. He was lingering in the Charms classroom, perhaps talking with Professor Flitwick about something.

I rushed down, pushing through students and arriving at the classroom right when Malfoy exited. I grabbed his robes, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around, looking at me, oblivious to the stares of the other students. "No fighting," I said, "and no curses." I saw Malfoy reaching for something behind his cloak—"And no wands, either!" I said angrily, taking my own wand and angrily shoving it down my pocket. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked up at the beanpole-thin Slytherin. His face was grey and hollow and it held no hatred. He looked tired, overstressed. I blurted out, "Why'd you do it?" and his reaction told me he knew what I was talking about.

"I'm a hopeless romantic. So sue me," he said stingingly. But his lips held a trace of a smile as he shoved a book into my hands. "Know thy enemy," he laughed before walking away.

It was a Muggle book; I knew by the author. But what did this have to do with anything?

-

Hermione Granger

-

Harry came into the common room looking like a mess: his hair was all over the place, his hands were all sweaty, and he kept on glancing at a thin book in his hands. I finally snatched it away from him, causing Harry to look at me angrily before he ran upstairs to the boys' dormitories. I looked at the title, blinked, and laughed. "Hermione? What're you laughing about?" Ron asked, taking the book from me. "Shake-pear? Who the hell's that?"

"Oh, Ron," I laughed, taking the book from him and dropping it into my bookbag. I knew the significance of the book and knew that if I allowed anyone to take it from me, it could spell disaster. Disaster for Harry, of course. "Ron, if I didn't love you so much, I could have Draco Malfoy catering to my every whim," I exaggerated.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, reddening.

"I'll give you a hint. All of the students who were trying Malfoy's tasks were…?"

"Girls?" Ron ventured. I thought about it and smiled. Yes, that was true too.

"They were all purebloods. Or half-bloods. But I doubt any of them have read that book."

"Why, is it important?" Ron asked. I said nothing. Instead, I got up and charged upstairs. I needed to talk to Harry.

He was sitting on his bed, mulling over something quietly. I sat down next to him; he didn't ask for the book and I didn't offer it to him. "I think I'm going to try it. The task, I mean," Harry finally said. He sighed, falling down onto the mattress. "He kissed me, you know. A year—"

"Ago, after we escaped from the Fiendfyre," I provided. Harry looked at me, shocked. "I saw, Harry. So did Ron. Why do you think he was such a prat to Malfoy afterwards? I mean, more than usual?" Harry chuckled. "I know how you feel," I admitted. Harry looked over with a questioning glance. "I've already told Ron this, being my boyfriend and all, but back in fourth year…I've kissed Viktor Krum."

"Who _didn't_ know that?" Harry said sarcastically. I hit him on the shoulder and continued, "The thing is, I couldn't get him out of my head. It wasn't until I saw how jealous Ron was that my mind turned to him. I guess that's how it works, I mean. You just can't get them out of your head. And you've been obsessed with him since day one," I giggled. Harry grinned and jumped off. I followed him, picking up a confused Ron from the sofa and following Harry downstairs. Once we got to the Great Hall, I sat down at the Gryffindor table with Ron. It seemed like my boyfriend finally knew what was going on.

"Wait a second, you don't think Harry's gonna…?" Ron asked, paling.

"Ron, you've had a year to think it over."

"Yeah, a year to _dread_ what could happen." I effectively shut him up with a peck on the cheek; no one was watching, they were all staring at Harry as he swung open the door without a backward glance.

-

Draco Malfoy

-

I sat in the shadows, jumping in fright as Harry Potter opened the door and marched to the pedestal to read the rules. So he had read the book. Or asked his Muggleborn friend about it. Luckily Granger was too neck-deep in Weasley to be concerned with me.

I created this task because I knew that outside the Muggleborns and some half-bloods, no one had ever heard of Shakespeare before. And those who never heard of him were the most likely to try. It was a way to keep my parents pleased; they didn't know I had based it off of a Muggle play.

In the end, I _was_ a hopeless romantic. The books I had read, many of them by Muggle authors, were varied. But the ones I liked the most were about the hero saving the maiden; she was so grateful that she rewarded him with a kiss. It embarrasses me to admit _that_ was the reason why I kissed Potter. I was grateful and it was in the moment—also, he looked _damn_ hot (both figuratively and literally) with his eyes glowing and his cloak billowing around him. It was no surprise when I heard Potter saying, "'Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.' Well, if I was willing to give up my life to kill Voldemort, I think that I would be willing to do the same for a much safer option." He laughed, pushing aside the lid and taking out a picture of me. He didn't even bother reading the note. I stepped out of the shadows and Harry, as if feeling my presence, turned around and met my eyes.

"Congratulations," I said. "Did Granger help you?"

"No," Harry replied, "she took the book and didn't give it back. Besides, it was obvious. 'Know thy enemy', Draco. If someone wanted to marry you, they can't expect only monetary gain," he said, gesturing to the gold casket. "Nor can they go the easy way out," he added, pointing at the silver one. "They have to be willing to sacrifice everything for you."

"Are you willing to do that?" I asked, surprised that Harry could understand the meaning behind the caskets without reading the book or without his friend's help.

"I risked my life to save you from the Fiendfyre, didn't I?" Harry asked.

"My parents will have a cow," I said, reaching out and holding Harry's shoulders. Harry grinned and welcomed the kiss that inevitably followed. He could learn to love me, if he didn't already. He already knew so much about me it was frightening.

-

Ronald Weasley

-

"Oh Merlin, what's he doing?" I asked, watching as Harry came out of the room as if he had won a Quidditch match for the House Cup. He waved around the picture of Malfoy, heading straight towards us. "Why did he even try it?" I moaned, trying not to meet Harry's eyes.

"He wouldn't try if he didn't have feelings for Draco," Hermione reasoned, and I guess it made sense. I just hoped Harry knew what he was getting into. The Malfoys did say: "Should you pass the task, my son will take your hand in marriage." I hoped Harry would be okay being the girl in the relationship, especially after what happened in the Room of Requirement last year.

-

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**A/N: Yay!!! A new story! I was having writer's block with my other stories and I really wanted to write something based on The Merchant of Venice (If any of my fans were with me long enough, they know I once tried writing a Harry Potter play called the Merchant of Ministry, but it was pretty bad so I deleted it.)**

**Draco is Portia FTW**

**It was really hard trying to write as so many characters in one short story like this! I really wanted Pansy to seem like a prep and not to Ginny-bash like I usually do. I tried making them a little more human as well (not OMG DRACO WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOT AND HARRY WAS LIKE SCREW EVERYONE AND HE GOT LIKE 50 BODY PIERCINGS AND A BUCH OF TATTOOS CUZ HE'S EMO)**

**I hope you enjoyed it (no sequals either)!**

**akiqueen**


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